Sunday 08 March 2026

New and updated items come first:

Norovirus remains high. Week 9 23 February – 1 March; this will be our last weekly report for 2025-26 about respiratory illnesses:

• Flu activity decreased and is circulating at baseline levels.
• COVID-19 activity decreased and is circulating at baseline levels   
• respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity decreased and is circulating at baseline levels. 
• Norovirus activity remains high but has started to decrease; cases are 30.5% higher than the 5-season average and are particularly high in adults aged 65+; children also suffer badly. Hospital outbreaks remain high. To reduce the spread, please practice good hygiene. Alcohol gels don’t kill Norovirus; wash hands regularly with warm soapy water and use bleach-based products to clean surfaces to protect yourselves and reduce further spread.

WARNING: Measles outbreak: There’s an outbreak of measles, the highly contagious disease, in north London. 60 suspected cases had been confirmed – with the majority in schools and nurseries and some children requiring hospital treatment, “particularly those who have not been immunised”. Outbreaks like this can easily spread and Essex is close by. Parents are urged to get children vaccinated and check your child’s vaccination status.

Between 1 January 2026 and 23 February 2026, there have been 158 laboratory confirmed measles cases reported in England, an increase of 28 cases since the last report on 19 February 2026.

Ambulance crews and A&E staff have slashed patient handover delays by more than seven minutes this winter — even as they ferried the highest number of patients to hospital in half a decade.

Hospitals at Broomfield, Basildon & Southend in January:

• Saw 64.7% of patients within four hours in A&E, against the national standard of 78%. This was 4.1% worse than December due to severe pressure. National performance was 72.5% and in East of England it was 72.4%. Improving urgent and emergency care performance is part of the Trust’s One Team Improvement Plan.
• 34 minutes was the average time for ambulances to hand over patients, compared to 61 minutes in East of England and 58 minutes nationaly.
• 62.9% of patients received cancer diagnosis results within 28 Days in December against the 79% standard. This was a deterioration from 64.7% in November. Diagnostic and outpatient capacities are being increased, including additional support in thoracic, breast, histopathology and radiotherapy specialities.

Broomfield Hospital Consultant breast surgeon Sascha Dua revealed what life is like behind the mask, after cameras followed her at work and at home, for a new national television documentary. She featured in the second episode of Channel 5’s The Surgeon as it followed her and her team as they performed critical surgery for two patients with breast cancer. This unique insight charts the high-pressure world of the operating theatre, to the consulting room where news must be broken, as well as the everyday ups and downs of life at home.

In a new campaign, the NHS urges people to turn on ‘push alerts’ from the NHS App so they get reminders about appointments and can rearrange any they can’t make. 1 in 4 appointments are missed; this is a massive hit on our NHS and we must ‘do our bit’ not to do this as it lengthens the waiting list and is an unnecessary big cost which should be spent on treatments. In Mid & South Essex just under 211,000 appointments were in 2025, which amounts to 400 missed appointments per GP practice each month.

Over 400 residents across Mid and South Essex have learned they have high blood pressure (hypertension) and need treatment, thanks to a local NHS community outreach programme. Seventeen NHS teams from Primary Care Networks (PCNs) delivered 29 community events during 2025 as part of the Cardiovascular Disease Community Outreach Grants Scheme. Funded by NHS Mid and South Essex, the events reached over 1,650 patients who were offered blood pressure checks, health checks and referrals to stop smoking and weight management services. The one run in South Woodham Ferrers in conjunction with this Group saw around 150 people. Our 2023 research project identified this as the largest health condition in the Town.

Fewer than half of adults are taking up their free shingles vaccine in the first year of being eligible. Figures published last week show that 42.1% of those turning age 66, who had been eligible since their 65th birthday, had received their first Shingrix dose by October 2025. Among those turning age 71 who have been eligible since turning 70, vaccine uptake coverage stands at 53.5%. The shingles vaccine is part of an all-year-round programme with all older adults becoming eligible when they turn age 65 or 70. Those aged between 70 and 80 years should already have been offered a shingles vaccine but should catch-up if they have missed out and contact their GP Practice. It is also offered to all severely immunosuppressed people aged 18 years and over.

Patients across England will benefit from new bone scanners to diagnose fragile bones earlier and prevent painful, life-changing fractures:

• 20 new bone scanners to speed up diagnosis of osteoporosis and other bone conditions across England;
• Tens of thousands of patients – particularly women at higher risk – to benefit from earlier treatment and fewer life-changing fractures;
• Builds on first wave of new scanners already in use, helping cut waiting times and prevent illness earlier.

The social care system that supports older and disabled people in England is cobbled together and confusing, according to Baroness Louise Casey, who has the task of reforming it. As chair of the independent commission on adult social care, she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the experience for people trying to get help was “horrendous”. Giving her first assessment of the problems since the commission started work last year, she says the care system relies on the exploitation of its workforce. She also said that cross-party political support would be needed to bring about the fundamental change required. Baroness Casey said the care system is fragile and divided, with drawn out discussions over who pays for what, making it anxiety-laden and confusing for those who need support.

“People spend hours and hours and weeks and weeks trying to sort out care for their family”, she said. “Dealing with all sorts of issues from the multiple different letters, the multiple different assessments, multiple financial assessments.” She believes a stock-take is needed to create an adult social care system which meets the needs of the current population, as people are increasingly living longer with more complex needs.

Baroness Casey delivered her first tough assessment of the problems that need fixing at a conference this week. She pointed to a total reliance nationally on underpaying care workers and an imbalance in power between the NHS and council-run social care, which ends up serving the institutions not people. “We’ve still got people earning less than the minimum wage. They are often not paid for travel, they are often not paid for holidays.”  “This divide between what is care and what is health does not exist to the public. It is our divide.” The deep-rooted difficulties faced by people with dementia or Motor Neurone Disease (MND) to get the right care, are examples of a failing system. Families of those with dementia “bear the brunt” with little information or support, and people diagnosed with MND, whose life-expectancy is short, still face multiple assessments and means tests.

The independent commission started work last summer. It has been examining the problems facing the care system in England and is due to produce a report this year with a plan for how to create a National Care Service. Phase two, which will look at how social care is funded in the longer term, is not due to report until 2028.

In the meantime, this is the foundation of the huge problems in the NHS as beds are blocked and patients who are discharged are returned early to hospitals because the social care is unavailable or insufficient. We must lobby about this as despite the difficulties this huge problem must be solved.

We’re holding a virtual public meeting from 1830-2030 on 23 March with keynote Executive speakers from NHS Essex, our hospitals and our mental health provider to explain the changes to the organisation of our health services starting in April. Full details and how to book a place will be on our website in the coming weeks.

Increased uptake of women attending first mammogram hitting a 10-year high has resulted in thousands more cancers being identified, enabling women to access treatment earlier, when there are more options available and treatment is more likely to be effective.

A landmark campaign to support millions more people with anxiety urges those facing six common anxiety conditions that treatment is available to come forward for support by self-referring online at nhs.uk/talk .

“Essential repairs” are being carried out to keep Maldon’s St Peter’s Hospital open, “ensure the building remains safe and secure for patients and staff, and continue to provide services onsite, including maternity, X‑rays, blood tests and a wide range of outpatient clinics.”  

To tackle wait times, our NHS trust has increased referral optionsfor attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism care.

Some infant formula products have recently been recalled because they might contain a harmful toxin called Cereulide. The formula products recalled include some batches from SMA, Aptamil and Cow & Gate. More on the Food Standards Agency website’s infant formula recall page.

UKHSA updated advice reports contaminated non-sterile alcohol-free wipes after continuing detection of cases and a recent death attributable to Burkholderia stabilis. As previously, the following were found to be contaminated causing the current outbreak: 

• ValueAid Alcohol Free Cleansing Wipes
• Microsafe Moist Wipe Alcohol Free
• Steroplast Sterowipe Alcohol Free Cleansing Wipes
• Testing also revealed contamination of Reliwipe Alcohol Free Cleansing Wipes, with a strain not related to the outbreak cases.

Used for ‘skin cleansing’ and cleaning wounds, these products are withdrawn from sale but may still be in first aid kits and homes. Check for these wipes in homes, including in first aid kits. If found, stop using them immediately and dispose of them in standard household waste. Our weekly newsletter includes everything we’ve published in the previous 7-days. Libraries provide online services and help with internet access. For welfare information and subscription to our newsletter, email swfhealthsocial@outlook.com or leave a voicemail on 01245 322079.